The Collinsport Chronicles LI: Barnabas' last battle
by Maryland Rose
Summary: Barnabas has been crippled, and little hope is there for him. But he still is willing to serve as bait to catch Burke Devlin, in what will be his final battle.
1. Chapter 1

BARNABAS' LAST BATTLE

Chapter 1

"Barnabas wants to see Verhoff?" Julia was aghast. "You know that Verhoff wants to execute him."

"I know," George answered. "But you see, he came home to die. Paralyzed as he is he does not have much to look forward to."

"There might be a cure, a way to get him well."

"There isn't. It was a magical injury that he received, and those do not heal. Barnabas is condemned to spend the rest of his life, which in his case is eternity, paralyzed in his coffin. He does not want that. He wants the chance to straighten up his affairs, as much as possible, to say goodbye to all of us, and then to die."

"But..."

"Julia, I can understand. I know, you are a doctor, and you do not like to lose. I do not want to lose him either. But I see him lying there, incapable of moving, and I think of what Joshua Collins did to him... As I see it, he has a right to make sure that we are not burying him alive."

"But it is not hopeless."

"Do you know how much I told myself that? Until I saw him, until I understood what he has to look forward to... At least with Verhoff, I will not have to do it myself... You know that I promised him that if he ever needed killing I would be the one to do it... well. he found a way to relieve me of my promise."

"You would do it?"

"Yes. I will not let him suffer needlessly because I do not have the guts to get a proper stake... I love him too much to let him suffer."

Julia shook her head. "I never thought it would end like this."

"It had to end somehow...I know, you hoped that he would end up burying you, that he would end up burying all of us. But he never wanted it... I was told that he would manage to get himself killed before the end of the millennium and that is going to happen... Ever since I knew him he had a target pinned on his back and one pinned on his chest. Whether by design or not, I do not know. But I know that they are there, and this time he won't escape."

"I cannot accept it... Not yet."

"Give it time and you will. As I did."

"You are taking it rather well."

"I already did my crying and screaming. Now I just have to make it as easy for him as possible."

* * *

"Do you want me to call Verhoff?" Megan was aghast. "Tell him that you are here, helpless?'

"Yes." Barnabas answered. "I know what he wants. Not just my death, but that of Julia. I want a proper inquiry. I want them to come and take my deposition, clearing Julia of all involvement."

"And you think that that will stop Verhoff?"

"No, you will. You do your duty, turning me in. You get Cecily or any of the children who owe Julia to join, so that Verhoff has no grounds to charge her with anything. Make sure that he is content with my death,."

"He might want not so much your death but to torture you into delivering Julia."

'That's where you come in. You have to play politics to make sure that I am executed cleanly, that Verhoff does not want to use me for experiments in regenerating magically severed spinal cords."

Megan nodded,. Yes, she could do that. Even if it meant Barnabas's death...

Although, looking as he was, helpless, immobile in his coffin, she could see why he would want to die. And if he got Julia off the hook at the same time...

"All right. I will do as you ask. Make sure that Julia is not involved, and that you are killed cleanly."

"Thanks"

She left, and Barnabas contemplated the darkness. It was late at night, and everybody else was asleep... It was the one drawback of his condition that he could never get over it. Too many empty hours, with nothing to do but read...

And now, not even that...

He wondered how Elsa and Edmund were doing. He knew that Frances had returned home, but not them. Frances had nothing to offer against Burke, and Burke had no reason to be interested in her. As for Roxanne... Roxanne had her own debts to pay, and so did Sebastian and their path did not cross Burke's in any way.

And he lay there, helpless, waiting to die, but still a source of power that Burke would be tempted to grab...

Well, it was his part to play. It was his duel, still, as he had promised Burke, so long... so long ago?... He could barely recognize himself in the crazed, raging, hurting man he had been then... yet he had promised it, and it was now time to make it happen.

And then, once it was over, he could die, as it had been promised to him.

He was at peace . He had seen the future in the labyrinth, and he was not in it. And when Julia had cut him open, he had faced himself, understood and accepted his past, all of it... His demons had been finally laid to rest.

Now it only remained to say goodbye,. To George, to Julia, to Willie, to Urien... to so many of them. Each name was a warmth in his heart. He held a part of their lives with him, and they too held a part of his life.

But first Burke had to be defeated..

He had to wait. As they were all waiting...

"Isn't there a way to make it happen sooner?" he asked, aloud.

"Tsk, tsk.."

He recognized the voice and was not surprised by it.

"Dave..." he said "you have come."

"Someone had to stop you before you gave in to self-pity."

"And because you care for me."

"Of course I do, you sentimental fool."

"Why must they suffer so? Isn't there a way to make it easier for them?"

"No. Only one thing will help George now, and it is to have your death behind him. But that cannot be yet."

"But still... to do nothing but lie here, and wait, and see what it does to them, to George... why did he have to love me?"

"It is as it must be."

"Why couldn't there been another way?"

"Why couldn't Burke have turned up different? He could have chosen another path." and this time there was real bitterness in the words.

"You knew Burke a while before, didn't you?"

"Yes. I knew him quite well. We were close once. No, not as I was with George. He was someone I wanted to help because... because he reminded me of certain things. He was willful and believed that he deserved better than what life had given him. I mistook his complaining about the injustice of his fate with a complaint about the injustice I saw around me. I tried to help him, but envy and bitterness ruled him. His life became centered on Roger Collins, why should Roger have everything while he had so little. He wanted what Roger had, and if Roger did not have it, it was not worth having. I tried to explain how things were but I had no authority in his eyes... I had unwisely made a pass at him, and he not only turned me down, but despised me. So he did not listen to my advice. His ambition, which would have been a noble, worthy thing, became twisted. Instead of embracing others, of sympathizing with those who had to struggle, he fixated on Roger Collins. He had an affair with Laura, and were it not that Roger wanted Laura too, he would not have looked at her twice... it led him to jail, and I hoped that when he came out he would have learned something... He learned ruthlessness and that being rich was all that mattered. You know by what means he began his fortune... Then once he was rich, he came back to Collinsport to revenge himself on Roger. But it was not fun. He saw Roger as he was, rather pathetic. Not the great Collins Monster he had seen growing up. He was not the proud, sneering rich kid who mocked him and his attempts. Roger was someone who had gone nowhere, who basically hung around because his family had made money once, and who was on his way to becoming a drunk. He was even slightly comical. He made Roger confess and that humiliation was enough for him.. He fell in love with Vicky and maybe she would have healed him."

"But I came along."

"Yes. And it is funny, but the worst damage you did in those days was something you were not even aware of."

"How?"

"You were the great Collins Monster of his imagination. The Rich Kid who had everything and mocked him and his attempts. The Lord of the Manor. The one who stuck in his craw... No, Roger was not that. But you, you were exactly that. And then you made a play for Vicky."

"So it started again?"

"It started again. He had gone to battle the dragon and found him unworthy, so he had a chance to reassess his life. But then there was this new dragon, and this one was not unworthy... he did not turn away from the challenge. He began stalking you, as he once stalked Roger. And you also stalked him, for your own reasons..."

"So..."

"So you were in a sense at the beginning of this. You might also be at the end."

"I am sorry."

'You did not twist Burke. He had already burned that village in Brazil. And other deeds... Behind each fortune there is a great crime... it was true in his case."

"And behind my family's. The slave trade was an unspeakable crime... it took Tammy to make me see what it was.."

"Yes. And you paid for it... We all paid for it.."

"Your ancestor was on that ship...you paid for him."

"Yes... what a tangled history we have to deal with... We want to believe that we are innocent, that we have nothing to do with the deeds of our ancestors. But if we accept the inherited money, we should know that we accept the guilt that accumulated it... A sailor did not leave that much inheritance, but enough for his son to accumulate more, for his children to climb into the middle class, for me to be able to go to Medical School... and then came payback time, after Willie released you."

"I am sorry..."

"Does not matter. You also made a dream of mine happen, one that I had asked Burke to help accomplish.. You brought Xavier Davenport to town.. You set another industry in town to break the economic stranglehold that the Collinses had on the local economy. What I asked Burke to do, but he did not. That kind of effort was too hard, when it was so much easier to seduce Laura...Well, my dream had to be forgotten. But you delivered it...And now we have to take Burke down, you and I."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Elsa was afraid. She tried not to show it, but it was no use. Everything was so strange there, and Amy, in spite of her attempts to reassure her, worried her even more.

She was not sure that Amy was human anymore.

The game was being played, still, with Barnabas as the pawn.. Barnabas who would die of it. They had to allow it to happen. He had been crippled trying to help, and this was his reward...

"Do you want me to cast the cards for you?" Amy offered her.

"No... I would rather not."

"Sooner or later you will have to see them. Sooner or later you will have to understand."

"You read the cards for Barnabas, too?"

"Yes."

"Did they lie to him, did they promise that things would be all right if he helped you?"

"No. There were not lies. He held the Death card in his hand and accepted it."

Elsa turned her face away.

"You cannot hide from the truth, Elsa. You are not a child anymore. You can't get out of trouble by being cute and bright. You played close to the fire and were burned, for it was no game, even though you thought it was. I am not judging you, just telling you that the time is past when you could pretend that things were not there when you did not like them."

"Isn't there any way to spare Barnabas?"

"None at all. And for all our efforts, there might not be a way to spare you if we do not play this right. I can't allow Burke to get his hands on you."

"So you have told me."

"I never wished this. But so many things that I wisher for have not come to pass... I did not wish to lose my eyes. I did not wish to become the Sibyl. But what must be, must be."

"So you say."

"So it is."

Elsa hugged herself.

"You are afraid, aren't you?"

Elsa did not answer.

'Yes, you are, but you think that if you don't admit your fear you will not be hurt. Close your eyes and hope that it goes away. But it will not. And if you close your eyes, how will you know if it has gone away?"

"I am too young to die." Elsa said, weakly "but that will not make any difference, will it?"

"No. If I can save you, I will. But if not, if the time comes to you early, it will come to you."

"Why would I want to know what the cards say? If they say that I will die... if you will kill me, then I don't want to know of it!"

"Your death is not decided. The cards can show a way to escape it. And they can help you understand."

"Like they helped Barnabas understand?"

"It helped him to know of it."

"I am not noble like him. I don't want to understand why I am going to die. I do not want to be happy about it! I want to go back home! I want this to stop!"

"It can't stop. Not yet."

Elsa turned her face towards Amy again. "You say that the cards can help me?"

"Yes."

She gathered all her courage. "Cast then, then."

Amy did. The first card was Death.

"No!"

"At the beginning, not the end. There is a death hanging over this spread, and not just for you. It might threaten Edmund. We know that it will claim Barnabas. Even I, should I lose this battle."

The next card was the Wheel.

"Changing fortunes. We could win or we could lose, and none of those outcomes is pre-determined. It is ours to do or undo. You can save yourself it you choose well."

"What must I choose?"

"For that, you must wait the other cards."

She shuffled the rest of the deck. The Wheel turned, she knew, not only for Elsa, but for all of them. All of them, except Barnabas...

"You choose the next card" she said to Elsa.

It was the Hanged Man.

"Barnabas" Elsa said. "Helpless, waiting... It is him, isn't it?""Yes."

"And I must be... must be the one to make it happen."

"All of us must make it happen.. He will pay the price for all of us."

"It must be Elsa. This is your choice to make. To help; it carry through."

"Why can't it be done without me? Without me knowing any of it?"

'Because Burke left too much of his power with you and he wants it back. You must claim that power for yourself and use it.

"Against Barnabas?"

"Against Burke But yes, Barnabas may well die of it."

Elsa shivered.

"You must assume your power, Elsa. It is the only way you can live."

* * *

"So Edmund is all right?" Carolyn asked Barnabas, trying not to show how upset she was to see him crippled.

"He is. Amy still needed him, so he stayed. She did not need me." there was a bit of hurt in his voice. "Nor Frances, so she is let us go. Frances is back in the egg, and I... I came home to die.. Edmund still holds most of Nicholas' power, so he can be of help."

"You would not lie to me, would you? Give me false hope?"

"I would never be as cruel as that. Not now. No, Edmund will return"

"And you..."

"I came to finish straightening up my affairs and to say goodbye to all. And there is one affair that needs straightening most."

Carolyn kissed his forehead. It was coming to an end... she had to say goodbye to him, and she remembered all they had gone through since 1967...

"So it is Burke Devlin who is threatening us? It seems impossible... and yet... he did hate our family when he came back here..."

"He came with hatred, then he seemed to mellow, and be willing to make his peace, thanks to Vicky... And then I cam along and it started again, as we were rivals over Vicky... well, he made his choices, and they were not good ones."

"It could have been different for him."

"Yes. But those were his choices, as we made our own choices."

"I made a lot of wrong choices."

"So did I, for that matter. But we made other choices, too. Burke too made some right choices. But in the end it became necessary to take him out, which is what Amy will try to do."

* * *

He would be back, Burke thought. Not through the labyrinth where Amy could laid down all kinds for traps for him. No, he would go to Collinsport and set his own trap there.

Both Barnabas and Frances had returned. He did not care for Frances, who had no power to command. But Barnabas...

Amy had let Barnabas go, because crippled as he was, he was no use to her. He had probably gone home to die...

But there was a way that Barnabas could be used...

* * *

"So Barnabas Collins decided to turn himself in" Verhoff said, amused.

"He is crippled, with a severed spine, that's what Megan Graham told me." his informant told him. "He probably wants to die, and wants us to do the job."

"Of course, I want first to tell me exactly who else was involved. I want to know how many accomplices he had for that thing."

"Careful" the other man told him. "We have no jurisdiction over the others, and we may get in conflict with Angelique, Amy, and other sorcerers if we go after them. The only one we can touch is Barnabas. If you try for more, for your own personal reasons, you will be the next one in trouble."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"You mean that you are just going to accept what Barnabas tells you and do nothing about Edmund?" Roger said angrily to Carolyn.

"Barnabas promised that Edmund would return."

"As Barnabas returned, crippled and ready to die? That is not good enough. What right had Amy to.. to take him away?"

"She needed him."

"And we are at her convenience?"

"What else can we do? She is the one with the power. We can be grateful that she is fighting for us."

"And since we can do nothing, we better accept it, and be thankful?"

Carolyn tried to protest, but she knew that he was right. They were helpless against the forces against them, and had to depend on those like Amy and Barnabas, who had the power, and abide by their decisions.

"You started it, Uncle. You are the reason why Burke Devlin soured on us. Now he has the power and means to hurt us."

"And that makes it all right?"

"It was your mess, and Amy is straightening it up."

* * *

"Barnabas, I did as you asked." Megan looked at him, trying to keep the tears from overflowing her eyes. "Isn't there anything else that I can do? No way to..."

"No, Meggie. I think that this is one thing that you cannot help. I know, you are good at solving problems, but not now. As you said, I got into this trouble, and I have to abide by the consequences."

"You could have stayed with Amy..."

"It is my time, Meggy. I know it. I had been told beforehand. I got crippled and it cannot be fixed. At least this gives me a chance to get Julia in the clear."

"It is unfair." she said. "Amy manipulated you into turning Hallie, and no one was there to remind you of the consequences. "

'Other thing are unfair too. It was not fair that Josette died as she did. It was not fair what happened to Sarah. It wasn't fair, what Maggie and Willie had to suffer at my hands."

"If I had paid more attention, if I had noticed what Hallie was, I could have stopped her without Amy..."

"You could not. She hid it well. And by then Amy had taken control and made sure that you were not involved."

"Because if I was involved I would have stopped you from turning Hallie. If Amy wanted a vampire slave, she could well have done what Angelique did and summon a bat. She should have left you in the clear... She is a manipulative bitch."

"She is a Sibyl."

"So?"

"So, she lives by different rules. "

"She did not care what she was doing to you, or to Angelique."

"She was a slave, blinded, and with no hope of rescue unless she made it happen. And she wanted revenge on Hallie. She was generous enough to offer her protection, but on her terms."

"Except that you paid for it."

"It is my time, Meggie. I was told of it before Amy knew what her destiny was. She may well have been manipulated into it."

"And you want Verhoff to be the one to do it? "

"So that George does not have to."

Megan sighed. "I can see why you would not want to go on, the way you are, but still.."

* * *

Trembling, Elsa laid the Hanged Man on the table.

"Yes, Elsa." Amy said approvingly "Barnabas is going to be the bait for the trap."

Elsa sobbed.

"It must be" Amy insisted. "He knows that he is bait, he agreed to it. He knows that Burke needs to be stopped. Draw now the next card."

"Which one?"

"The one that Burke will use for his purposes, the mask that he will wear to get close to Barnabas, and make him deliver you into his hands. Burke cannot come as himself to Collinsport. But he can use others. We must control who it is that he will use, so that we can take him - or her - away when we want."

"Who will that be?"

"That you must find."

"Could it be Carolyn or Roger, as they are worried about Edmund?"

"There is a possibility."

"Is that why you did not send Edmund away, to worry them, and make them make a foolish choice?"

"If I denied it, would you believe it?"

"You are..."

"Not human any longer."

"No, you are not. There are others who might be used by Burke, Julia, George, Urien, Willie... They love Barnabas, they would take crazy chances for that they think is a chance to make him well again. Are they on your list?"

"Not so much. Willie has a wife and child to think of. Julia has her husband and her daughter. Urien has a whole future ahead of him, and is a bit chastened by the way Hallie used him. He would be wary of any offer that looks too good. George... if it were not for Georgina, he might be willing. Still, Burke could work on their minds."

"And I have to find who is it?"

'You forget another player. Doctor Verhoff."

"Him?"

"He hates Barnabas, and believes he has him in his power."

"So?"

"So cast the card, Elsa. Whoever comes, we will now will be Burke's mask."

It was the Magician.

The Man of Power. The Man of Knowledge. Also the Fraud, the Cheat, the Mountebank.

"It will be Dr. Verhoff." Amy said.

* * *

"So you expect me to kill you, don't you?" Verhoff said, as he faced Barnabas. "I can understand why you would want to die. That kind of injury, if inflicted by magical means has no cure. And you, very nobly, do not want your friends to have to do it. Let an enemy get the pleasure of doing you the favor."

"I want to make a full deposition of what I did, who else was involved, and the circumstances of it."

"And why would you do that? To get Dr. Hoffman in the clear?"

"I could not believe that you would want to charge her with anything. She was completely ignorant of what went on. I was kept ignorant until the last moment."

"No one let her know anything?"

"How could they do it? Amy approached them in their dreams, and they only talked to those who had shared in the dreams. Julia was never a part of it."

"Did you have the dreams yourself?"

"No, but Adam did. The link we had is very frayed, but it can be pulled if there is a need, and Amy pulled it to summon me to the church. Everyone else involved was there. And Julia was _not there_.

"And this Amy, is she in the I Ch'ing maze now?"

"Yes She is a Sibyl there."

"So this is your story? That you were obeying a Sibyl's summons and that Dr. Julia Hoffman had noting to do with it?"

"Yes."

"Have you considered Mr. Collins that I will not sign your death warrant unless I can also sign hers?"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Quentin sat facing George "How is he doing?' he asked.

"The same. He knows that he is not going to get any better. He is waiting for Verhoff to execute him for breaking ronin law."

"I should go see him."

"You should. "

"I know that I have been a coward... I thought that I had put all that childishness behind me, but some of it remains."

George growled. "Who cares whether you have grown up or not? He is paralyzed from the neck down, and waiting for death. He has found a way to relieve me of my promise to kill him if he ever needed it. Do you think that I am in the mood to share on what you have to tell about your wonderful voyage of self-discovery?'

"I am sorry. I know..."

"The, if you know better, act it. Stop whining and complaining, and go see him. And don't pester me with stories of how much you have changed."

George was right. Quentin sighed and turned his face away. He promised himself that he would go see Barnabas as soon as the sun went down.

"Would you kill him, could you do it?"

"Yes. I could. If it needed be, I would make sure that we were not burying him alive. It is not so hard to sharpen a stake, nor to use it. And I would not botch the job as you did once."

George's hostility hurt Quentin. It was a bit unfair, but then, George had to take it out on somebody, and he had made himself a target.

He just had to see him. There were things that needed to be said between them. And they needed to be said between Barnabas and Maggie... Would he tell Barnabas about he and Maggie?... Yes, he should. He had to know that Maggie's story with him had come to an end, because Maggie wanted it to end.

And then there had to come an end to the relationship between himself and Barnabas. Not the one he would have wished, not the one that Barnabas would have wished. But it was about to end, it mattered that they ended up friends again.

So much they had shared in 1897... and then the were all gone. Edward, Judith, Beth, Rachel, Magda... Jenny, Carl... they were all gone. And now Barnabas would be gone. Only himself and Angelique would remember what had happened,.

Something had to be said about it before Barnabas died... But what was to be said?

* * *

Verhoff lit his pipe and inhaled. Very interesting situation with Barnabas Collins. Interesting and very satisfying.

He knew that the kind of wound Barnabas had was hopeless. And Barnabas evidently knew it too. So he sought death...

Maybe he would commute the death sentence to prison. There were no records of a vampire with a severed cord making it that long. They usually got caught by the sunrise, as they could not make it back to their coffins. But Barnabas...

Maybe he could experiment on him... Yes, commute his sentence, and then take him to his laboratory to see if there was a way that a severed cord could be restored...

He would enjoy that...

Except that there were those who would give him grief about it. The children - or former children, since they bodies had begun to grown and transform, were flexing their political muscle. They would rush to Julia Hoffman's defense, and that meant also Barnabas'' defense.

Yet, the temptation was great...

And he wanted revenge of Julia Hoffman for destroying his very comfortable set up.

Break...

Burke cast his awareness for any dark passions that he could ride. Someone close to Barnabas was ready to listen to him, and to do his bidding. They only needed a little push.

Dark passions relating to Barnabas... There was some he could sense. There was an old bitterness, an old scab that never finished being scratched... Maggie Evans...

But that bitterness was diluted now, lost in the joy of a newfound love.

Quentin Collins - the bitterness of envy, the bitterness of shared guilt, and the desire to unload his guilt on his accomplice... but it was diluted now, and there was the promise of a better tomorrow to distract him of it.

Zeb King... an old wound that kept being scratched... but there was healing there too...

Iris White... but here too there was a sense of peace, a sense that no good would come from indulging her bitterness

But then there was a bitterness raging red hot... One thirst for revenge that knew no bounds...

Revenge on Barnabas Collins...

Yes.. he would give the man revenge.

Break

"It has begun." Amy said. "Burke has found Verhoff and is fastening on his rage to be able to take over his will."

"And Verhoff will let him do it?"

"If he fully knew what was involved, he would fight it. But he does not know. He is just indulging himself, he thinks, he is the one in control... until he finds out that he is only a puppet pulled by strings."

Break

Verhoff knew that there was some entity in the room with him. He wondered distractedly what it could be, and what it could want... but then shrugged. One of the many ghosts of the place.

It seemed to share his hatred of Barnabas. And why not? There were those who still wanted revenge on him. This may be one of them..

Perhaps it was Trask. Perhaps it was Schuyller Rumson... perhaps...

There were plenty of deaths at Barnabas' door, and if this one ghost wanted to help him achieve revenge, why not?

Not death, but torment. Being used as a lab specimen for severed cord studies... yes, that would be an appropriate revenge.

"Do you like that?" he asked the unseen entity? "It will be so much fun.'

The entity seemed to agree.

"Good."

The entity came closer and Verhoff felt his own anger rise, and also the delight of the promised revenge.

"You want it too don't you?"

The presence was next to him. No, it was in him..

"It will be so much fun."

Then he felt another's mind reach his, felt it pour into him...

Felt it take control

'Hey! I did not say you could.!"

"Too late. But I will give you revenge. Just watch."

* * *

"It is done." Amy said. "Burke has contacted him, and Verhoff welcomed him... In a few minutes, he will have taken him completely over."

"That easily?"

"When you give in to your passions, it makes it easy . Verhoff rages, cannot think straight, and welcomes a complete stranger because he gives the promise of revenge...and so it is done..."

"He will hurt Barnabas now, will he?"

"Yes."

* * *

"Frances" Howard was abashed. :I know that it was my fault..."

"I do not wish to establish blame. Most of it was Nicholas' and Burke Devlin's doing. But that is not the point."

"But I want you to forgive me."

"I have forgiven you Howard. And Roxanne. But you see, Patterson was right. The sensible thing to do now is to get divorced, so that you and Roxanne can marry each other."

"You now that what Nicholas did..."

'Nicholas did not create the problem, he just exploited it. You and I made a mistake getting married. Same as Derek and Roxanne. Let us be sensible and straighten the mess, as Patterson said, like reasonable people."

* * *

"The Tower" Amy said "Catastrophe, Destruction. For Burke Devlin. Pride goes before the fall, and he is proud. So is Verhoff, and so he has fallen. Yet from this fall good things might come. See how the gold coins fall to the ground, to be gathered by those who can read the signs?"

Elsa shook her head 'Please do not gloat. Barnabas will be the one paying the price for it."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Is this you, Phyllis Wick? Amy answered the invisible summons.

"Yes. You called on me for help. I am willing to grant it. She will be with you shortly."

"Does she know what is required of her?'

"Not yet, but she will comply. She has been learning the way of obedience, and knows that this is a big test for her, to obey you in all things."

"Instruct her thoroughly, I do not want her to act in ignorance."

"I will do so. I will send Hallie to you as soon as I am done."

* * *

Verhoff strode into the room, grinning at Barnabas.

Barnabas saw the grin and shivered. It was not Verhoff's smile, it was Burke's.

He was now in the power of Burke Devlin.

"You know the truth, Barnabas, don't you?"

Barnabas did not answer.

"Yes, you do know it. And you will say nothing to anyone of this, or I shall take revenge on those you care for. You will not betray by word or sign that I am not Verhoff, or Urien will die painfully. And George, or George's daughter. There is no one who will be safe from me if you betray the truth to anyone."

Barnabas stared at him.

"You understand, Collins?" Burke grabbed his hair and yanked it. "Is that understood? Say that you will obey me or I'll"

Barnabas swallowed. "It is understood."

"Good" Burke released him.

"Is there anything of Verhoff left?' he asked.

"I shall ask the questions, Collins."

* * *

"I am worried about Uncle Roger" Carolyn said to Megan. "He said something about looking for Edmund. He has a way of getting into trouble..."

"I understand. You do not want him stepping into the I Ch'ing maze nor anything." Megan sighed. There was a game being played and she was out of it. As she had been out of the rescue of Amy and David... Things were happening in Collinsport over which she had no control.

It scared her.

But if she could keep Roger out of trouble, she would feel less helpless...

She hoped that Amy knew what she was doing...

* * *

Barnabas was alone again. Burke was among them, undetected, and ready to extract from him what he knew of Amy's plans and how to get hold of Elsa again.

And he could not hold out for long against him. He hoped that Amy could know what was happening, that she was ready to counterattack.

Yet Burke might force the truth out of him. He could. He had already forced screams of pain and terror out of him... the pain that he had felt at his hands... his body did not respond to the commands of his brain, but it could still hurt... In Burke's hand it could feel again, and feel pain and nothing else...

How long could he hold out?

He could only hope that he had incomplete or outdated knowledge, that Amy kept the most important information to herself...

Did Amy know that Verhoff was no longer Verhoff?

Or maybe Amy did not care, maybe she had decided that he was expendable...

"Tsk...Tsk.."

"Dave..."

"There is doubt in you now, isn't it?" Dave said to him gently.

"What is happening? Does Amy know? Has she abandoned me?"

"She has not abandoned you. She does care. But this must happen. You must seem to be abandoned. You must seem to be in despair, so that Burke will believe what he forces out of you."

"She expected this, didn't she?"

"Yes."

"She told me to be bait, but not what it would mean..."

"Yes." Dave agreed. " As you yourself said, she is not human anymore, so do not judge her by human standards... though humans have made the same calculations as she did... it is shocking because you knew her as a little girl, but she does what she must."

Barnabas did not answer. He was thinking of Burke had done to him, and what more he could do."

"You will not be asked more than what you can bear. No more than you have borne already. What you did for Maggie and Joe, you must now do for Collinsport, and countless others."

"Others?"

"Burke, having grown in power will not content himself with the puny revenge he can extract from Collinsport. You have known Vassily Petofi's rule. Burke is not so different from Vassily. How could have I blinded myself, and for so long... How could I have given him the weapons to achieve his desire, and deceived myself that his desires were just and worthy of support... I unleashed him, the same as Willie unleashed you, only what I unleashed is beyond redemption. Lust must have blinded me. I never took him to bed, but I should have. I might have been able to see through him..."

"We all make mistakes at one time or another."

"Yes. We all do. But this one... For this one mistake much evil came forth, and much more will come." he looked at Barnabas and for the first time Barnabas saw vulnerability there. "I depend on you to undo what I have done. Without your help I am powerless."

"My help..."

Dave smiled sadly. "So it has come out at last, the truth of what lies between you and me. There is an unpaid account between us, but it is I who owe you. I can't demand what I need by working on your guilt. You must give me your help freely. Will you help me, knowing what price you may pay?"

"Dave..." Barnabas thought of Burke again, of what would happen the following night. And what would happen if he denied his help. He thought of the man facing him, how little he had known him, and how much he had learned from him. He thought of the debt between them, not the one that had once seared him with guilt, but of others, little gifts to which he had no right to, and which had enriched him. And he thought of the greatest gift of all.

"I have a choice don't I?"

"Yes, You do."

"You said the same thing to me once. I did not believe it then. Yet I did not forget it either. I had choices... I always had choices... you have given me many gifts, but telling me that was the greatest gift of all. Dave, you are my friend. I wanted more than anything to call you that. As your friend, please let me help you."

"Thank you." Dave's humility shook Barnabas. He had never seen him this way before. "I can take the pain away for now. When Burke returns, you will not remember of what we said. You will be prey to pain, doubt and despair when he faces you. Only when he is done, I will come again, and restore you and let you remember the truth." he laid a hand on Barnabas' forehead. "I can do no more for you."

"It is enough."

"It may not seem so when Burke returns. But remember that when you break, Burke must believe that you are broken."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Is there no hope?" Urien asked George.

"No. The kind of wound he has will not be cured."

"But if Dr. Verhoff is here, he might know of a cure."

"Verhoff is not here as a doctor, but as an executioner. Barnabas broke vampire law and Verhoff has come to pass sentence of death... He prefers that it be Verhoff that kills him not I."

"But... I thought that he was a doctor..."

"I know. You want him to get well. You do not want him to die...But it will happen. I do not know which is worse when you lose someone, to have it happen suddenly, or to have warning..."

"Did you lose someone suddenly?"

"Yes. I had no inkling that it would happen. I was making plans on what I would say to him when I met him the next day, and when I got up in the morning they told me that he was dead. With no warning, no inkling... It was a horse's kick in the chest. My world was turned upside down... And now... now it is all coming back, all that loss, all that impotent pain, all the emptiness... But Barnabas is not yet dead, and I do not know if to be thankful of it, or to wish that it was over already... And he...he probably wants it to be over too."

And Urien too probably wanted it to be over, deep down. He wanted to go to college, but would not leave while Barnabas was this way. He would not even allow himself to think of it. He owed too much to Barnabas to with him to die so that he could get on with his life. He probably was ashamed of himself for it...

As he himself, who had mixed his grief for Dave with concern of what he was going to do with himself...

"Are you sure that there is not a way? Not Verhoff, not.. but what about that other sorcerer? Nicholas? He is quite powerful. And I heard that he needs protection. He might be willing to help Barnabas if that helps him..."

Nicholas Blair, with his alcohol soaked brain...

"Did Nicholas offer you?" he could see Nicholas doing that, trying to curry favor with his new masters.

"Yes. I did not say yes, because I thought Verhoff..."

"I do not think that Nicholas has the power anymore. Still, I will talk to him."

* * *

"You want me. mistress?" Hallie asked Phyllis Wick. Her manner was awkward. She was practicing humility and it evidently needed to be practiced a lot. She could not forget that she had once wielded power and had come close to having it all..

"Yes. Hallie Stokes Collins. You are need. Have you fed already?"

"I have done so."

"The way I instructed you to?"

"It was quick, it was clean, and my source was not harmed by it. I exercised self-control as you commanded."

"Very good Hallie. You learn, once you know you must. You learn fast, though you seek ways to evade my commands, or reinterpret them. I do not relish punishing you but you need to unlearn much."

"I am sorry, mistress."

"You are not, not yet. You have no meditated on your actions, you have not truly repented of your deeds, though you say you do... that will come in time. Humility is strange to you, and empathy for others' suffering is stranger still. That will come. I cannot touch your soul yet. But I can compel obedience and that should be enough for now."

"I will obey you."

"Yes, you will. Well, learning is a process. First you learn what you must do. Later you learn why. And later the alternatives. And later you will think of consequences...and step by step wisdom will come to you."

Hallie chafed... Phyllis Wick had been a governess, she recalled, and the tone of voice of the classroom never left her...She lectured before she punished you, during your punishment, and afterwards... The lectures were worse than the punishments...

She bent her head. She had to listen humbly to those lectures. Or at least look like it.

"You remember Amy Jennings?" Phyllis asked.

"I do."

"She needs help. I will send you to her to serve her as she wishes."

"She?" Fear gripped Hallie. Amy would surely take revenge on her.

"Do not fear. She will deal with you fairly. If she does not she knows that I will demand an accounting of her..." she smiled. "It is very bad form to abuse other sorcerer's slave."

Slave... she must remember that she was Phyllis Wick's slave. As Amy had once been her own slave...

The Wheel did turn indeed...

* * *

"Are you sure that's all you want us to do? " Willie asked. "To wait and nothing else?"

"You can go about your business and come and tell me all about it." Barnabas smiled. "you can share with me all the wicked gossip you come about. You can bring Pearl to see me... things like that. But don't you try anything else. This time you cannot release me. Once is enough." Barnabas was firm. He did not want Willie to become involved, trying something desperate and ending up a target for Burke. Ignorance was Willie's only protection now... And he wondered how much of a protection that would be against Burke...

"I wish that I could do more."

"You cannot. But you can make it easier for me... No, Willie, I have reached the end of my journey. I just have to finish a couple things, and then, Verhoff will take care of... releasing me."

A grumble let them know that Verhoff/Burke had arrived.

"Go, Willie." Barnabas urged him. "The good doctor and I have a few things to talk about."

Willie went away, and Barnabas hoped that he had played his part well, and that Willie would not get suspicious as to what he and Verhoff had to discuss.

"So, we are alone again." Verhoff said.

"Yes" Barnabas said, with dread as to what was to come. Could he hold out against what was to come. Could he hold out against what was being done to him?

"What have you told him?"

"Nothing."

"I wonder." he put his hand on Barnabas' neck. "Shall we begin? I want to see how much feeling can be somehow be restored to your body."

Barnabas shivered and said nothing. Soon the pain would begin, and he would scream. Then it would stop and the questions would be fired at him. Then the pain would resume, because he had not answered them, or because he tried to lie.

"I know that Amy has Elsa, but she does not plan to keep her forever. If she did not mean to return her, she would have just killed her. That's what I would have done. She's soft and sentimental, isn't she?"

Barnabas said nothing.

"When will she release Elsa? What would let her thing that I was no longer a threat? What is she planning to do?" he pushed his hand into Barnabas' neck, and Barnabas howled as each of his severed nerve cells was filled with pain."

"Please stop" he begged.

"Tell me what I want to know, and I will stop."

Barnabas whimpered... "No..." has aid. "Petofi did not break me And neither will you."

* * *

He had gone to see Nicholas. That's how desperate he really was, George thought. He went to see Nicholas, knowing that it was useless, knowing what Nicholas was, a loser still dreaming of his glory days, and unable to recapture them. He had failed with Eve. He had tried to recoup with Jeb and the Leviathan, and failed. He had gone from failure to failure, drowning himself in alcohol, clinging to whatever power lingered in him...

How could he ever help Barnabas, when Angelique could not?

And he had only promised to _try_ to help Barnabas. After he, George managed to convince Angelique to help him get his power back...

But he hated losing Barnabas, and even a crazy chance such as Nicholas offered was worth taking...

* * *

"Edmund," Amy said. "Burke has taken the first bait, which is Barnabas."

"And I am the second bait, am I not?"

"Yes. you are. You are to retune to Collinsport, saying that I have no more use for you. That will be a relief for your family. And Burke will be ready to pounce on you."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Welcome, Hallie" Amy said to her.

"I was told that I must help you." Hallie said, guardedly.

'"Yes. You will be of use to me."

Hallie looked down, and a ripple of fear ran through her. Amy was blind, and she had been the one to blind her... And now she was in Amy's power.

"Is she a vampire now?' Edmund asked, curious.

"Yes. Don't you remember what was done to her?"

'Yes, I remember."

"Then you should not ask embarrassing questions.."

"I am sorry." he turned to Hallie. "I am sorry if I upset you."

"It is all right," Hallie said.

"It is time that you went, Edmund." Amy said. "You still have a part to play"

Edmund vanished, on his way to Collinsport. Amy and Hallie were left, facing each other.

"You are afraid of me." Amy said simply.

Hallie did not deny it.

"You think that I shall seek revenge."

"You have the right, and the power. I cannot stop you, if you choose to."

"I do not have the right. You were promised protection, and you have it. Phyllis Wick is the one who has power over you, and she will allow no harm to come to you. Should I harm you to please myself, I shall incur her wrath. And should I have the right, I would still not use it. The debt between us was settled when Barnabas' fangs pierced your throat. Now it is only your help that I require."

Hallie straightened up, more sure of herself. "What do you want me to do?"

"Elsa" Amy said. "Show yourself to our guest."

Elsa stepped out of the veil that Amy had thrown over her.

"You see her? You must look like her. I shall disguise you so well that no one will be able to tell you apart. Not till the teeth are exposed will anyone know that you are not Elsa Quarles."

* * *

Barnabas panted and whimpered. And the pain would not stop.

"It can stop any time you choose." Burke reminded him.

"No, not that way."

"It will only stop when you give me what I seek."

Barnabas wondered about Verhoff. Was he still there? Did he know how the body was being used? Did he agree to it? Did he think that his revenge was worth the price he was paying, being a helpless spectator of his own body?"

"Doctor Verhoff, please, don't.."

Burke laughed, then released him. "You really are confused, aren't you? You still think that I am Verhoff, not Burke Devlin."

"Verhoff is still there."

"He does not count."

"I think that he'd like to have his body back"

Was there a flicker in Burke's eyes? What was it? Anger, a sense of betrayal?

"Doctor Verhoff, do you agree with what Burke is doing?"

Burke laughed. "He is not to agree nor disagree. I asked to use his body, and he granted it. I will use it as long as I want, and he has nothing to say about it."

"Still, he can retake control, if he fights for it."

Burke laughed again.

* * *

Elsa gasped at Hallie's transformation.

"She looks exactly like me."

"Yes, she does. But she is still Hallie Stokes Collins underneath. And still a vampire."

"It is amazing."

"Just a sample of the power to be found in this place... Yes, she looks enough like you to fool most people. but will it fool Burke?"

* * *

"So you are going to marry her." It was not a question, but a comment. Sabrina was neither surprised nor distressed by knowing that Quentin would marry Maggie. Even if it meant that Maggie would no longer need Sabrina as she once did.

It was time to move on.

"Yes." Quentin said. "We are going to be married soon."

"I wish you good luck, then."

"Thank you."

"I will not say that I am totally happy about it, but I wish you well."

"You don't have to leave her."

"I want to. Washington is a big city and I had more that one attractive offer. I did my best for Maggie, but I am tired of watching this continuing drama between her and Barnabas. Let someone worry about it for a change."

"She has finally made his peace with Barnabas."

"That I'll believe when I see it. This story will only end when one of them is dead and buried."

* * *

Barnabas whimpered again.

"Does it still hurt?" Dave asked, solicitously.

"It is not the pain. It is that I don't know if I can last another session... I know that I agreed to it, and that it will end soon. But I still have to get through it."

"I can't take that away. I can share your pain, but I cannot prevent it. All that you endure from Burke, you are all alone. Even the knowledge of the truth is taken from you. You must hold on a bit longer, until the time you break and you blurt out what you believe to be the truth."

"Is there no other way?"

"It is too late now to seek it. All the traps are set, all the players ready. Your role is that of bait and victim."

"And I agreed to it? Does it have to be done?"

"Do you wish Burke to grown in power?"

Barnabas thought of the cold, cruel stare that had been fixed on him, thought of the threat against George, Willie, Julia, Urien... anyone who might learn too much.

"No. I want him stopped. Only why does it have to be me?'

"Because you were there... By the way you did a smart thing today. You tried to call on Verhoff. You might yet arouse him and make him try to regain control of his body."

"How aware is he?"

"Enough to resent it. He is in a kind of sleep, but can be aroused. You did arouse him for a few moments... I think that I will work on him, too."

"I see. Tell me, Dave, why does this have to happen?'

"Because too many people made mistakes and now those mistakes have come together."

"And some of those mistakes were mine."

"And some mine. But you will be the one to pay for it."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Why did you send Edmund home?" Elsa asked Amy "Is it because he is no longer needed? Or because you want to keep Roger out of trouble?"

"It is better that Roger keeps out of trouble. But he must be there. It must seem as I am done with him."

"He is bait, too?"

'Yes. Burke will go for him too. He is another part of the puzzle."

"With Barnabas caught in the middle."

'Yes,. Why do you keep talking about it? I know what Barnabas is enduring better than anyone. If you think that by reminding me of it I will feel remorseful and stop it, you are wrong. I do feel remorseful, but I will not deviate from my path."

"And he does not matter at all."

"Elsa" Amy shrugged "No, I can't expect you to understand. You don't have the responsibility I do. And you don't see what I see."

"All I know is that Barnabas is suffering for my sake."

"That is your guilt speaking, not mine."

'Yes. It is mine. I let Burke seduce me. I believed him, I did all he asked... I worshiped him... I tried to kill Vicky because Burke wanted her and not me... And now it has led to this."

"We all make mistakes, Elsa. the question is how we are going to recover from this mess."

* * *

"Doctor Verhoff" Megan stood in front of him, arms crossed. "I do not like what you are doing."

Burke was amused at her. Megan Graham evidently did not know who he was. So he wanted to see how it played.

"And what do you think I am doing?"

"You are trying to force Barnabas to implicate Julia Hoffman, and that's why you are not signing the order of execution."

"And what if I am doing that?"

"There will be a price to pay. You are making yourself vulnerable, Doctor. You forget that you no longer can command the vote of the children, now that they have grown up. You do not want to make an enemy of me. Nor of Cecily, either. She has some damaging information out of you, and she will use it."

"You are threatening me?"

"I have not played much politics among the ronin. That is about to change."

"Don't forget that you are vulnerable thought your relationship with Angelique."

"And you are vulnerable due to your... tastes... You do not want Cecily to testify as to what you are and you like."

Burke shrugged. Good thing that he was not really Verhoff, because Verhoff would respond to those threats.

But he,... what did he care? Once he was done, he would leave Verhoff, and let him deal with the fallout with the ronin.

And when he had the power, the ronin would have more serious problems to worry about than Verhoff's tastes.

* * *

George sat, his head sunk in his hands, trying to restrain the jumble of thoughts running thought his mind.

He had Georgina. He had a daughter, and the chance to raise her.

Did that make him accept the fact that Barnabas was going to die?

Did he want Barnabas to die, because that made it easier for him to raise his child?

Megan was right. It was better to raise children without vampires around. Even if they were careful, there could be mistakes and slips... and with a small child, the first mistake would be the last...

It was not true, he tried to tell himself... He did not want Barnabas to die...

He just accepted that, crippled as he was, it was better for him to die...

So what did it mean that he accepted it so easily? Didn't he love Barnabas? Had he ever loved him? Had it just been lust?

No, it was not...

It was just that he had known that Barnabas would get himself killed sooner or later, and that he had learned to accept it.

Or was that just an excuse?

* * *

"Quentin and I are getting married" Maggie told him.

Barnabas smiled at this. So this had come to pass. Just as he had predicted it. Maybe the rest would come to pass to.

"For the first time I feel free. I realized that I can let go of my rancor... That I have this big future in front of me, and that I do not want to risk it... Barnabas, it is going to be different now."

"I know it will."

"When you get better, you will come to visit us."

So Maggie clung to the fantasy that there was a cure for him... Why did she believe it? Maybe she felt less guilty about flaunting her happiness in front of him if she believed that he would get well.

And what harm did it do to pretend that she was right?

"I will make sure to go there, and to attend your wedding. I'll have to think of an appropriate gift... I take that antique jewelry won't do."

"According to Miss Manners, I should not extend invitations in the hope of getting presents. I am only announcing it so that you may know of my good fortune and rejoice for my sake. If you desire to give me something, it will be welcome, but it would be very improper for me to say what you should give me."

"In any case, you do _not_ want antique jewelry."

She sighed. "No, I do not."

"Do not worry, I will come up with something suitable."

It was not very likely that he would have to send a gift. But it was nice to pretend. To think that he could go to Washington, that he could attend some of the parties there... That he would get to meet a lot of important people... that he would have the chance of telling Ed Meese what he thought of him to his face.

It was just a dream... a beautiful dream...

And he would wake up in Burke's hands...

* * *

"You see it, Verhoff? You see what is being done with your body? Are you happy with it?"

The voice came from nowhere. Verhoff's consciousness, half asleep as it was heard it... it reminded him... and he could hear... he could almost remember..

Barnabas screaming and begging...

Serve him right, he thought... now he wanted to go back to sleep.

"You never agreed to this. It is your body and it has been stolen from you."

"What you mean stolen? I am just sleeping. You are a dream, nothing more."

"You are a doctor. You cannot condone this. It goes against all medical ethics."

"So many things are against medical ethics."

"You are proud of being a doctor. You are proud of your knowledge and what you can do. Why throw it away? What would Sigmund Freud say?"

"Sigmund Freud knew nothing about vampires."

"But he knew you, and knew your integrity."

"He did not know about my... tastes. If he had known... well, maybe he would have made excuses for it, and blame the children for seducing me... but I did not touch any of them... not until..."

"Not until you found children that you could take to bed without guilt. Because you, in spite of everything are a man of integrity."

"Yes..."

"You cannot allow your body to be used by anyone else. You are in control. You are no one's instrument. You are Dr. Siegfried Verhoff, the unsung hero of the Freudian theory. You are a good doctor, and will not allow this perversion to take place."

"I... I have to stop it, don't I?"

"Yes. I will help you."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"Vicky called" Willie said to Barnabas "said that she was coming to see you. She and Phillip."

"Is it wise for Phillip to be so close to the sea?"

"Phillip said that he can handle it, and that you are worth it. They want you to see how Little Phillip is grown."

"That is good. Poor Carolyn. She cannot get Vicky to come, but she comes for me."

"Well, Vicky's relationship with Carolyn is a more complicated than the one with you... And then..."

"Then Carolyn is not dying. I know.:"

"Barnabas, please."

"You know that I am dying. That's why I called Verhoff in, to arrange it. Oh, well, let's not talk about that. Tell me about Louella and the new kid you are expecting."

"I would like to have a boy this time." Willie said. "William Loomis, Jr. And I hope to be a better father than my old man."

"You will, Willie, you will. And it will be a boy. One that will inherit your penchant for looking for treasure. Only in a more socially approved way. I could tell you that he will not get in trouble that way, but I do not think that it will be true. It probably be a different kind of trouble... Just tell him that if he runs into a head in a box, _leave it alone._"

"I will tell him that" Willie grinned.

"Good. You cannot be too careful with those things. Though the mask of Baal was destroyed in this reality, you never know."

"Have you seen Georgina?"

"No, George promised to bring her in later... Poor George, he is so conflicted. He thinks that if he cares for her, it means that he wants me dead."

"But that's not true."

"No. But the fact is that Georgina is his future, and I am his past. And letting go of the past is not that easy. I should know...And it is not that easy to let go of the past, when it is still with you. So he is being torn, and feeling guilty... Well, he will get over it. Just be gentle with him. You tell him those things. He will believe them better from you than from me."

"How many people have come to see you?"

"A lot. Alma and her husband, who want news of Elsa, of course. The Davenports, who seem to have nothing happening to them, except raising Sandy's kids. handling Xavier's kids and their lawyers, and growing their business. Jessica dragged Zeb here, and Zeb is a bit abashed, but still, I doubt that we would ever be friends. But at least he is not in the warpath anymore... Antonia is a beautiful baby. Julia, of course, with Kenneth and Gretchen. Gretchen has her mother's eyes, but her father's black hair... at least the hair he still has... Tammy and Joe, too. Tammy is expecting a child. She is sorry that the kid will never know me... I mean how many people get to meet their ancestors? Buffy and Frank, with Lyndon, Maggie and Quentin... Even Sabrina..

"Frances not come yet?"

"She will. They got a lot to mop up there, Plus the messy details of two divorces, and two remarriages... Chris and Oriana will be coming too."

"To tell you goodbye."

"Yes."

The footsteps approaching him told Barnabas that Verhoff was there. He had had a short respite and that was over...

Could he hold out?

* * *

He was back in Collinsport. Edmund rubbed his eyes. A few moments ago, he was still in the labyrinth and now he was back home.

It was nightime. Barnabas would be awake, and so would be Verhoff. Probably Verhoff was interrogating Barnabas now.

And when Burke found out that he, Edmund, had returned, there would be more questions still.

The game was far from over, even though it might seem so. There would still be a brutal struggle soon.

But at least he could give Carolyn and Roger some respite. They did not need to know what was happening, only that Amy had no more use for him, so she had returned him, as she had promised...

Just as it the labyrinth, he did not have the power to withstand Burke. But again, as in the labyrinth, he could delay him long enough...

She hoped that Amy's gamble would pay off.

* * *

"You think that you can win?" Burke asked, his eyes shining dangerously.

"Doctor Verhoff, I know that you do not want to do what your body is doing."

"Verhoff! He has nothing to say about this. He allowed me to use him. Maybe I did not explain what it meant, but still, he allowed me. He wants revenge on you, and that I can deliver to him. Why do you think that he will not approve of what I am making him do?"

"Doctor, beyond our disagreements, beyond all that stands between us, I know that you have too much integrity to allow this."

"There is not Verhoff here! Only me!" Burke caught Barnabas angrily and applied pressure to his shoulder.

Barnabas howled.

"Yes, this is better."

The pain continued. He wait for it to subside, for it to go away, so that he could pant, and beg and whimper, and gather his strength again.

But it did not come. Burke's hand was frozen in position in his shoulder and would not let him go.

"Calling on Verhoff will not help. He does not care for what happens to you. He hates you, anyway. Why do you think he'd care? Because of some professional ethics? You are a fool, Barnabas Collins. He does not want this to stop."

* * *

"You see it Verhoff? You see what is being done with your body? Are you happy with it?"

The same voice out of nowhere that kept arousing him.. the voice that would not let him rest...

He did not have to be aware of Burke's actions. He did not want to know... What did he owe Barnabas Collins anyway?

"You are a doctor, you are a man of integrity. You cannot allow this."

"But I can't stop it! And you are you, anyway?"

"A doctor, just as you. And someone who can help you break free."

* * *

Barnabas fought to hold it down, not to give in to the pain.

"You will tell me, Barnabas Collins. I am the stronger of the two, and you can't do anything about it.

Barnabas fought to hold back, to not let Burke win.

Something broke in him... He could not hold out any longer, he could not...

"Yes." Burke smiled. "I think that now you see it my way. Tell me, Barnabas. Tell me what I want to know."

And Barnabas did.

* * *

"So it is over? Carolyn asked Edmund, anxiously.

"Yes. it is." Edmund lied. "As far as I an concerned I am of no more use to Amy. Whatever she does not, I will not be involved."

"And of course, she does not care what happens to any of you."

"She sent us back home, as she had promised."

"True, But look how she returned Barnabas."

"There was nothing that she could do for him. He asked her to be able to die among his people, and she allowed. If she could have healed him, she would have done so."

"Perhaps."

"Is Dr. Blair still around?" Edmund decided to chance conversation. "There were things that I wanted to ask him."

"He is back at the egg, but you can ask Angelique to bring him back here."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Verhoff rose with the dusk.

He felt strange, As if the word around him was not truly real.

And then he realized. He was himself again.

Burke was gone. He had been in control when dawn had forced him into his coffin, but now he was nowhere...

His mind was his again...

And if felt so strange to be in possession of it.

Someone had promised him that... and he had delivered.

He was free...

He remembered what he had done. The face of Barnabas as the pain tore through him, the pay, the whimpering...

And the refusal to be broken...

Did he hate him still?

No, he did not. He just wanted to forget Burke Devlin and all of it.

He was free...

"Do you think so?"

He turned, shivering. Burke stood there, in a gleaming light.

"You recognize me, don't you?"

Verhoff snarled at him.

"Yes. You recognize me. And you know how useless your fangs are against me. I just took advantage of your sleeping to go around and find out what is going on... But you are not rid of me, Not while I have a use for you."

"No!" Verhoff howled at him. "You won't use me again!"

"You cant stop me."

Verhoff lunged at him. Burke just laughed as Verhoff fell on him, and through him to the floor.

"You can't fight me Verhoff. You should know it."

He could not. He tried turning into a bat, into mist, to escape somehow.

Burke was still at his side.

'You are mine, Verhoff. You must do as I say."

* * *

"She sent me to you." Edmund told Barnabas. "And you know why."

"Burke is here. And he knows... He forced it out of me. He will come after you next."

"Burke? Here?"

"He is possessing Dr. Verhoff. Get back to the labyrinth. Warn Amy."

Amy already knew it. But he did not say it. He did not want Burke overhearing it. Better let him believe that he had beaten them.

"Amy must know... Get back, Edmund, please...If you stay here, he will destroy you."

* * *

Verhoff felt his body rise on his feet. He had lost the fight. Burke had returned and had proven to be the stronger. And this time he let him know what was done to his body... and that he would have to face ronin retaliation, afterwards for what he was doing to Barnabas Collins...

"No!" he wanted to protest "Don't do this to me, to him... don't force me."

Burke knew of his anguish and mocked him.

Would nothing come to stop this? He had been promised help... where was that help, now?

"Burke! Burke Devlin!"

"Who are you?" Burke turned, stung by the reproach in the voice that reached him. A voice that he knew too well.

"You know who I am. You know me well."

Burke seemed paralyzed, and Verhoff felt hope return to him. Here was the help promised him! Here was his chance to throw off Burke's yoke.

"You have no right!"

"I have every right. You would not have done much of what you did without my help. And you turned it to evil purposes."

"So you helped me once. And I know what payment you wanted. But in the end I made myself what I am. You have no right to impose your rules on me. Not when you wanted something else from me."

"Burke, there is a debt between us that has to be settled."

"There is a debt between you and Barnabas! I am avenging you! Isn't that what you want?"

"No, Burke. The payment that I demand is more convoluted, and believe me, Barnabas has settled his debt on my terms. It is your debt that is pending."

"And what would my debt be?

"To turn from your ways. To stop using your gifts to wicked ends."

"You always said things like that, didn't you? Well, what did it get you to follow your own precepts? You got killed, that's what. While I grow in power, living or dead. Barnabas is helpless in my hands, and you might have wished he could be in yours. But you would not believe it in doing it my way."

"You have chosen wrong, Burke. You are not the only person in the world that deserves consideration. You suffered, right, but others suffered too, and you never cared enough to help them."

"I have heard you say this a hundred and fifty times before, and I did not care. I do not care now, either... And then, who are you trying to kid? You were never that selfless. I know what you wanted of me, what you wanted of all your boys."

"You said no, and I respected that."

"You hoped to wear me down, tell the truth I know what you wanted to make out of me. Some sort of Boy Scout, doing a daily good deed, and fucking you besides. Well, tough luck. I am going to settle my account with Barnabas. You can watch me if you wish."

* * *

"Hallie ran a hand over her face. "I do look like her, don't I?"

"Yes."

"I have forgotten how I look." she said, with more than a hint of a complaint. "I haven't seen my face for a long time."

"Neither have I." Amy reminded her.

"True. I spoke wrong. I presumed too much." Hallie looked down, trying to seem penitent

Humility did not come easily to Hallie...

"You have so much to learn, Hallie. This new life of yours is hard, I know. I appreciate it that you try. But has it occurred to you that I am the last person you should complain to?"

"It is not... Amy, I am sorry I hurt you."

"Maybe you are... No I think that given how it turned out you regret it bitterly."

"But you are the only person who knows anything about Collinsport and the rest. You are the only one who know David. Mistress Wick doesn't."

Amy softened. "I am your only link with what used to be. What you had, and what you threw away."

'Yes. Please, let me remember."

"Yes. Maybe you should. Those memories will help you become what you should be. If Mistress Wick approves, I shall help you. If I am satisfied how you serve me now."

Hallie nodded. Questions had come to her, about David and Eliot. Questions about her uncle, if he knew of what had happened to her, and if he would condemn her...

But not now. Not while they had Burke Devlin to deal with.

* * *

"I tried to fight it... but he kept tormenting me... I tried not to tell... I held out several days..."

"It is all right, Barnabas" Edmund tried to reassure him.

"It is not all right. He knows our plans. Get back to the labyrinth. Now."

"It is too late for that." Burke said, striding into the room.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Edmund faced Burke "It will not be that easy. We will not make it easy for you."

Burke smiled. "So you want to fight me, with whatever little power you have. You believe that you can stop me, if you try hard enough. He believe that, too. And I broke him, as I will break you."

Barnabas stared at Burke, despair gnawing at him. Not only him, but Edmund now. Where was Amy?... She needed to know... and if she was not warned, she would be destroyed too.. It was lost, all was lost...

"Dr. Verhoff." he pleaded. "Do not let him use you anymore."

Burke laughed, nastily "You are still trying, aren't you? You do not want to give up."

Edmund braced himself for the onslaught. He had battled Burke before, and lost. He had not grown any stronger since then. But as before, he did not have to win, just last long enough.

"Child, forget about ever defeating me. Trying and trying will get you nowhere. You are not the little engine that could. You are a kid, playing at a grown-up game."

* * *

Verhoff sobbed impotently, locked out of his own body, paralyzed by Burke's mind. He had tried to fight it, to deny him entry again, but it was true. Burke was the stronger.

"But you are not alone in this."

He did not ask who that was. The promised help.. but what good would it do?

'He must not be allowed to use your body. If he does, all will be lost. You must find the strength to push him off."

"I can't. He's too strong."

"The strength will be there. You must have to push with all of your strength. I will add mine, and that of others. Try to remember who you are. Do not allow your body to be used for evil ends."

* * *

Edmund moved away from Barnabas, sizing Burke with his eyes. It was not Verhoff's body that he saw, but Burke's power, his rage, his passion.

He did not have a chance against such as he. What could he do? He was only a child...

Quentin Collins' child. Quentin Collins did not ask whether he was strong enough against the likes of Commander Todd or Sergeant Haskell. He had done what had to be done. He had gambled, he had faced the risks, he had accepted the consequences.

Chance or no chance, he would face Burke Devlin.

Burke shook his head, amused. "So you will fight me. after all." He had control of Verhoff's body, a vampire's body. He would use his hunger.

He had allowed Verhoff to feed, carefully, as was Verhoff's habit, and he had somehow enjoyed the sensations of it. He had actually regretted Verhoff's restraint, but understood the need to abide by it.. But now he had a chance to feed to the fullest... He sensed how Edmund's heart beat inside him, how his blood moved through his body... he would enjoy tearing at his throat. He pulled his lips back, enjoying the taste in advance.

"No!" Barnabas howled, understanding what Burke wanted to do. "Not that!"

Burke smiled widely "Come Edmund, come closer."

Edmund let out a bolt of energy in Burke's direction.

Burke stepped aside and laughed. "You foolish child. You could have saved yourself, now it is too late."

Inside him, Verhoff howled.

Edmund's blood would be the first. There would be others. Blood would feed his powers, as well as Verhoff's body. He would take over Collinsport and rule it. He would put Carolyn under his power and take possession of Collinwood. He would force Willie into his old job, guarding a coffin, only it would be his. Barnabas's coffin would be chained up, and its contents forgotten. And maybe he would take Vicky from Philip and keep her as a slave. Take her to Collinwood, renamed Devlinwood, and have her wait naked, and on her knees in his bedroom for him to make us of her...

All those who had snubbed and mocked him in the past would pay...

Edmund saw how he was now lost in his own dreams, and saw his chance. he gathered all the power he could and aimed to the heart. He envisioned a wooden stake materializing out of thin air, he envisioned it being directed towards Verhoff's chest. He sent it there.

It hit Burke and he fell, blood pouring from his mouth.

But he did not touch the ground. He dematerialized and few upwards, as the stake fell through where he had been.

Then he rematerialized.

"It was a good try, child, but not good enough."

Barnabas watched in horror. He felt the bloodlust in Burke, and the passions that fueled it. He sensed the anguish in Verhoff, and his desire to break free, to throw off this evil stranger, who, he know knew, would never set him free. Verhoff would remain forever locked in a body he could not control, watching Burke commit abomination after abomination using his body..

Would no one help them now?

Edmund gathered his strength. He could keep Burke from coming closer, still. But it would not last long. Burke would break through his defenses, seize him, and feast at his throat and then...

Then it would be all over...

* * *

Amy's hand laid on the Hermit card, which had come out of nowhere. A seeker, a bringer of light, an unexpected ally... maybe the guiding hand that shuffled her cards?

She had made a mistake in allowing Burke to possess Verhoff. His vampire body gave Burke the power to resist Hallie when he met her. For all her plans, for all her insight, she had not been aware of this possibility...

How could she have missed it? How could she have been that foolish

No, she had not been. It was not her who shuffled the cards. She only dealt them and saw what it was to be. She had been a pawn, as much as Barnabas or Elsa...

She was a Sibyl. She had not been promised more. She could not defeat Burke on her own, but she could make it possible for others to do it.

Whatever he was, the one who showed her the way with his lamp, she accepted his presence and was grateful for his guidance.

"What will be will be." She said. "It seems that in this I must serve you."

* * *

Edmund threw more bolts of energy at Burke, blindly knowing that if Burke should grab him, it would be lost. And they all missed their mark, except one, which made Burke reel for a moment. But only for a moment.

It was true. His power was weak still. He was not yet in full control of it. It dispersed blindly about instead of focusing...

In a few seconds Burke would be upon him and drain his blood, and this power, with the blood.

"Stop!" A figure appeared in front of Burke.

Burke looked at Dave with irritation. "Who asked you anything? This is not your business anymore. You can get what you want out of Barnabas. As for the rest, I will have my way."

"I created you Burke. I started you on your path. I did not know what I was doing then. But I do now. You must be stopped."

"Stop me?" Burke laughed. "You can't. No one can."

"I can."

'How?"

"I can deny you the body that you have been using." Dave gestured "Dr. Verhoff, here is your chance! Regain yourself! Break free! Reject the bargain you made in ignorance and willfulness! Assert your rights!"

Burke laughed "It is all over. You don't count, Dave. You never did. Your sort never wins, don't you know that by now?"

"Doctor Verhoff, here is the chance I promised you! Seize it!"

Burke laughed again. But the laughter stopped. A strangled cry came out of his throat.

His face contorted. Fear, anger, despair... hope... his body went rigid, then limp, as it fell to the ground.

"Verhoff is fighting to get his body back." Edmund said, ready to help out.

'No." Dave said to him gently "It has to be Verhoff who breaks free. If you use your power, Burke will grow stronger."

"Dave" Barnabas asked "what is happening?"

"I am pulling the fangs of the serpent that I created. You saw how he mocked me and my ideals. If I had seen through him then... You heard him. My sort never wins,... He is a predator, and I did not realize it. He did not object to poverty, only to himself being poor. He did not object to oppression, only to being oppressed himself... Well, we may not settle the argument today, but he will not harm anyone here."

Verhoff' struggles continued silently on the ground. There was pain and anguish in his face, there was strain in the muscles. there was waiting, weighing heavily on all of them.

And then it broke. Three was triumph in Verhoff's face, as a sort of smoke left his body.

It was done. Verhoff was free again.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The smoke coalesced into an opaque form. A man's face formed itself, and features began to insinuate themselves in the face.

Verhoff was free, but Burke was still with them.

"I will need a body" Burke said. "If not that one, then another."

"He cannot possess either of you." Dave said. "Unless you welcome him. Deny him, and he will not have a body to use."

Burke laughed, more hollowly this time.

"So I lost the vampire's body. It does not matter. My power did not depend on it. I needed him for one reason only, to make Barnabas tell me what I wanted to know, and he has done that. He has answered all the questions I ask. I can still regain Elsa, once I force you to make her come to you."

"I shall not do that." Edmund said.

"Yes, you will, child. You wasted all your power in these last attacks. You can't find anything else to throw at me. You are helpless. And who will help you? Him?" he indicated Barnabas, derisively. "Or him? he will not tangle with me again." he pointed at Verhoff, trying to regain his feet. "look how weak he is...Him?" He pointed at Dave "What can he do? He can exhort, tell pretty moral tales, that he himself knows are not true. He can try to keep you in the straight and narrow. But if you don't, well, he won't be able to do a thing about it. Ask him what good his homilies did when Barnabas decided that he had lived long enough."

"I can stop you, Burke" Dave said calmly "but it would be better if you were to renounce your ways on your own will."

Burke laughed. "Lecturing as always. that's all you ever knew to do, you pathetic faggot!"

"I speak the truth."

"Truth is what serves your purpose, no more. And your 'truth' does not serve me."

Barnabas concentrated. He wished that he was not so helpless. He wished that there was something that he could do, someone hen could call on for help...

"Peter Bradford" he called "If you can hear me, come to us. We are under attack by a man who is an enemy of Vicky's, who seeks to do her harm. Should he win, he will take a cruel revenge on her. As you cared for her, please help us."

No one paid attention to him. Verhoff was still on his knees., and Edmund only had eyes for Burke and Dave.

"Peter Bradford" he called again "Jeff Clark. Please come to us, for Vicky's sake."

Dave and Burke continued measuring each other. In spite of himself, Burke did not strike. There was a residue of respect for Dave in him, a residue of affection, and that stayed his hand, for a while.

Dave looked at Burke and knew the truth. Burke would not turn from evil on his own will.

What would be would be.

A shadow fell upon them. And another body took shape in the middle of the room.

"I am Peter Bradford and you have called me."

* * *

"Peter Bradford" Amy said, shaking her head. "That's a new one. Summoned by Barnabas"

"What can he do?"

"Keep Burke busy a bit longer, It will help us. After vanquishing him, he will be even more willing to believe that you are Elsa."

"You did not expect him?"

"I did not foresee the possibility of Burke wanting to keep Verhoff's body." she shrugged. "it seems that I am as much an instrument as the rest of us. Someone else is calling the shots here... Well, it is basically a bullfight now. We are waving red cloths at him, Verhoff, Edmund, Barnabas, Peter Bradford, even Dave Woodard. With so many red cloths he will not see the sword aimed to the heart... You are the sword."

* * *

"Peter Bradford?" Burke spoke with scorn. "And who might you be?"

"I loved Vicky Winters once."

"So did I." Burke laughed. "So you are the one she found to console herself after I was declared to be dead... She had no sense... You are pathetic, Peter Bradford, Jeff Clark, or whatever name you might have. Do you really think that you can defeat me? Are you a sorcerer?"

"I loved her. I promised to help her."

"And your cause is just" Burke mocked him "So how can you lose? You are nothing, you have no powers to oppose to mine. Is he the best that you can do, Barnabas Collins?"

"I will stop you." Peter said with determination.

"Same as the others stopped me? Look at the bunch of them. A child, a paralyzed vampire who's trying to achieve sainthood, and old Hubert Humphrey Democrat, who actually believes that being a knight in a shining armor is a sensible way to behave. And Doctor Verhoff.. Let us not forget Doctor Verhoff, who, if you give him a couple of weeks, might stand up again... and you, another wraith ready to be exorcized."

"Whatever you are, whatever your powers are, I must still oppose you."

"So try. Let's see what you can do. Can you lecture on Right and Wrong like him? he pointed to Dave. "Can you throw away what little power you have, in the hope you'll get luck, like him?" he pointed to Edmund. "Can you scream and swear that you'll never give in, only to do so when the pain gets to strong, like him?" he pointed to Barnabas "Yes, what can you do, Peter Bradford?"

"I can do what I can do."

"Which means more pretty speeches. Come on, lecture me all of you. Maybe you'll bore me enough so that I will leave. Or I'll laugh so much that I will let you go."

"I will fight you."

"So you will? How?" Burke gestured and the image of Peter wavered before them. "Can you stop me?"

"I must."

"You must, but you can't. Begone! Go back to whence you came and bother me not!" Burke gestured and this time Peter was gone.

"Tell me, Barnabas, was that the best you could do?"

"Burke" Dave said sternly "you will not get away with it."

"Begone, you too! I have listened to you long enough! I do not choose to listen to you again."

Burke gestured again, and Dave's shape wavered.

"You are stronger than Bradford, but you must leave. You are not wanted here. No one here who matters cares for what you have to say."

Dave was gone. Now only Edmund remained to face him. And Edmund had no strength left.

"Now you will call Elsa to me."

* * *

"And so we come to the end. It is time for Edmund to break. Now he will know that he must give Burke what he wants."

"And I will go to him?

'Yes. The rest will be up to you. Do as I instructed you."

"It might be easier if he had blood I could take."

'But it is not that easy. Be thankful that we have weakened him enough for you."

* * *

"No!" Edmund screamed., as Burke reached out and touched him.

"I have you, as I had Barnabas. And you will tell me what I want."

Barnabas screamed, in despair, and so did Verhoff.

"Get up, Verhoff, please, do something."

"How can I make Elsa come to me?' Burke asked coldly. Edmund screamed in pain, as Barnabas screamed with him.

"How can I make Elsa come to me?" Burke asked again.

Edmund knew then that he must give out the information. That he had been meant to give it...

So he did, sobbing to seem to have been broken.

"You see, it was that easy. And it did not hurt that much. Not as much as certain people are going to hurt when I come get what's mine."

Edmund fell to his knees sobbing... It had hurt... but then it had to look good...

"Now I have it all!" Burke said, laughing. " Elsa, come to me! I know the words that hold you! I hold the keys of the cage where Amy Jennings has put you. I can break the lock and bring you to me! And I do so now!"


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Burke moved his arms in quick gestures and spoke something that sounded gibberish to Barnabas. The shape of his body lost definition for some moments, then regained it.

"Elsa! You must come to me! The last barrier between us is gone! Appear to me! Show yourself here, before all of us!"

The air became thicker, and they knew what it meant. Elsa was coming to rejoin Burke, and to do his will. Burke would have the power that had been denied him, and he would have a new, living body to walk upon the Earth and wreak terror and destruction upon it.

Barnabas stared, no longer screaming, no longer wishing for anything. It was all over now, all of it... all that he had prophesied, all that he had hoped for, would never come to pass. Instead, those he loved would groan under Burke's heel, and how many others with them?

Elsa appeared. Small, shivering, weeping.

"So you have come at last." Burke said. "As I said you would."

Elsa whimpered and Burke savored his triumph.

"You could never escape me, you realize it now. They could not keep you from me. You are mine."

"Please, don't" Elsa whispered, weakly.

"But I will, for I have the power for it."

He slid towards her, triumphantly, ready to absorb her life force, drain in, and use it to fashion a body for himself from it. He would consume her, leaving only ashes.

He enveloped her.

A howl rent the air. A howl of surprise, and pain.

It was not Elsa.

Hallie threw off her mask and laughed. "Surprise, Mr. Devlin."

Burke tried to pull away from her, sensing the vortex that was within her, and which threatened to swallow him.

But Amy had prepared her well. The vortex fed on the power of the vampire, and was made to become stronger by those she touched. It now sucked Burke in, growing stronger as it swallowed him.

She felt powerful as she did it... so powerful that she wondered if she had enough power to break free of the hold that Amy and Mistress Wick had on her...

But she knew that it was not _that_ strong... They had made sure of that, the two of them.

Burke struggled and howled in pain, as Edmund howled not too long ago.

Dave appeared in front of him, shaking his head sadly.

"Dave!" Burke pleaded "Please help me."

"I can't" Dave said sadly "You destroyed yourself. I gave you chance after chance, and you threw them away. It is over now, Burke."

'No! Not like this! It isn't right!" It isn't right!"

"You chose this, Burke, not I. I would have spared you this, if you had allowed me."

Burke and Hallie glowed as she embraced him, then they vanished gradually until they were both gone."

"Is it over?" Verhoff asked, in a whisper.

"Yes, it is over." Dave said sadly "It is finally over for Burke Devlin."

"What happened? " Barnabas asked, amazed. It all seemed lost a moment ago, and now it was all right again.

"Don't you remember?" Dave touched his forehead, lightly "You were the bait, and did very well."

'Yes... Yes, I was the bait."

"And so was I." Edmund said. "We had to keep Burke concentrating so hard in fighting us that he would not notice that it was not really Elsa that he summoned."

"And I? Was it important that I get rid of him?" Verhoff asked. "Or was that part of the plan."

"It was important. He was thinking of keeping your body permanently and not bother summoning Elsa. You put a stop to that."

"Good to know that."

'You mean that it was just bad luck that he possessed a vampire instead of a normal human being?" Edmund asked.

"Yes. There was a joker in the deck, and Amy is going to learn to beware of those... Another joker was Peter Bradford. That she had not planned to happen, either... She is new as a Sibyl, and has yet to learn humility"

"She will never come back, will she?"

"She is a Sibyl now." Dave paused. "You helped us Verhoff, and we owe you. I know of a way to thank you. Come Edmund. put your hands on his temples."

Edmund did, repressing the shiver that he felt remembering how this same body had stalked him... but that had been Burke Devlin. He put his hands on both temples feeling the power go from his fingertips.

"A few wires in your brain are being rerouted, Dr. Verhoff" Dave said. "I would have never attempted such surgery were I alive, but at this level it is possible. Your desire for children bodies is being muted, while your desire for adult bodies is growing... You will not worry anymore about the children growing up, as you will not have urges to contain. You will never attack a child, and never have to worry about ronin justice. And who knows, maybe Cecily will start liking you more now that you find her new body attractive."

Verhoff nodded, shaken by what he was being offered. His fear that had been consuming him evaporated.. He was free.

"Thank you."

"There is one task that you came here to do. Please do it."

Verhoff looked at Barnabas. Yes, all he could give in exchange for this gift was death... But a death that was welcome.

"I am satisfied that Dr. Julia Hoffman had nothing to do with your deed. By ronin law you are condemned to death Barnabas Collins. You and no one else. You will have one more day to make your final dispositions, then the execution will be carried out."

"Thanks." Barnabas said.

* * *

Burke faced Amy, in a daze. How could such a slip of a girl defeat him? And what could she do to him? He knew that he would have been merciless if he had won, and that she could not allow him to go free.

"It would be folly to be merciful to one such as you." Amy said "To do so would be cruelty to others who might one day stand on your path. You fought, and lost, and may now pay the penalty."

"What will you do to me?" Burke said, dread mounting in him. "You cannot destroy me, nor banish me forever."

"No. But I can imprison you." She took a small flask and unstoppered it.

"No!" Burke shouted as he understood the fate that she had in store for him.

"You shall be a jinn, Burke Devlin. You shall remain in that flask till I have need of your services, and then you shall obey my commands. You might, if you deserve it, be released from service one day."

"No!" Burke shouted again, fighting against the gale of wind which seemed to envelop him and to suck him into the flask "No! I will not go inside there! You can't make me! It isn't right!"

Amy remained impassible as Burke became a wisp of smoke which threaded its way into the flask. Burke struggled but was swallowed up bit by bit. His screams died out, and soon there was no smoke hovering over the opening.

Amy stoppered the flask, then put it on the shelf behind her, to remain there till she had need for it.

"You could have saved yourself" she said, knowing that he would hear. "If only you had chosen to."

Now it was Hallie's turn. She had been her enemy once, which seemed so long ago. Like Burke, she now paid the penalty for it, and like Burke, she might earn her freedom.

"You have done well, Hallie. I will tell your mistress that I am satisfied with your service. Go to her now."

Hallie smiled and disappeared.

Amy let out a sight. This was over. There would be more things happening in Collinsport in the years ahead, but not for a while. What Barnabas had predicted would come to pass. Life for them would have many surprises, pleasant and unpleasant, and sometimes she would have to intervene. But not now. And Barnabas would not be part of that future. His story had reached an end

And so was hers. The story of Amy Jennings was over. The story of the Sibyl had only begun.'

Except for one last thing.

"Elsa" she summoned her captive "You can go home now. You are safe, and so is everyone else."

"Except Barnabas."

"Yes. As he knew from the start. Go now and you can say your goodbyes to him."

"But..."

"Go Elsa, do not waste his sacrifice. Go home."

Elsa vanished and Amy was left alone.

Alone at last. The last vestige of her past as Amy Jennings was gone. She was not even Amy Jennings... Few who knew her now would know the name that she was born with. She was the Sibyl, no more, no less.

So be it.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"And still you did not tell me what was happening." George did not know whether to be sore, or sad, or just scream.

"What could you have done/ You had your hands full with the trouble at the egg. And then Georgina. I did not want to make you a target."

"I know... I know... but still... I am going to lose you, am I not?"

"Yes. George."

"At least I will not have to do it myself. Verhoff will arrange it."

"Yes."

George kissed him. "I love you and can do nothing for you."

"You have done more than enough."

George was the last one of his visitors. Willie, with Louella, had been there,...Good old Willie, who had been a friend when he least deserved one. Julia, with whom he had shared so much. Carolyn, with Adam in tow. Maggie, who was finally able to stop thinking about him. Quentin, whom he almost did not recognize, so sober and serious he had become. Vicky and Phillip. Buffy and Frank. Tammy and Joe, Sandy and Xavier, Zeb and Jessica. Alma with her husband and a tearful Elsa. Iris, Urien, who protested when he was told that Kenneth and Julia would be his guardians, but then accepted it, Edmund...

They all had come to see him, to understand that this chapter of their lives would be over.

* * *

"Will they do it now?' Edmund asked Dr. Blair nervously.

"Yes. I know that it is a killing. But what else is there for him? An eternity of lying immobile in the coffin? I can understand why he wants an end to it.

"It seems unfair."

"It is. But then so was what happened to your parents"

"Yes... They should not have died as they did."

"You are no longer a child. You are a young man. Try to make your parents proud."

* * *

Verhoff had called two helpers, who managed to get Barnabas out of the coffin and tied him upright to a post. His legs could not hold him up any more, but still, he would stand..

He looked around. Some of his friends had come even to this. Julia, Willie, who had been at the beginning., Megan with Angelique. And George...

George smiled at him.

"Just make sure you don't bury me alive" he said aloud to all of them.

One of Verhoff's helpers lifted the crossbow. He aimed the wooden arrow to Barnabas' heart.

It was that easy then...

The arrow shot and hit straight in the chest. He felt a blow, some pain, and then...

They saw the blood streaming out of his mouth and nose, as well as the chest. There was some blood dripping from the eyes...

And the body... for it was a body now, had begun to smoke..

A swift blow with a machete severed the head, which had begun to turn into a skull.

"Now we better burn the body." Verhoff said to George, and before George protested he added. "He wanted it that way."

Weightless, Barnabas watched them. He felt pity for them. They were hurting and he could not help them. they would have to face their pain alone. And then they would have to keep on living...

He no longer had a share in their doings.

"It is all done now. You can't linger with them anymore" Dave said to him.

He was not surprised to see him. He had always known that he would be there when the time came.

"I wish I could reassure them.."

"They are on their own. Your time with them is ended."

He did not answer. He looked at them, how George had taken up his head, carefully, trying not to cry. He wanted to tell him that it was not so terrible, that they should not be sad.

"It is time to go. Follow me."

He did, In no time at all he had left the room, and was going up narrow staircases and corridors.

"I have come this way before, haven't I?"

"Yes. You were blindfolded then. Now you can see where you are going."

They were there. Bathia Mapes, Old Munsungan, Eliot Stokes. Just as they had been when they had judged him Worthy.

"He is here." Dave said.

"Come join us." Eliot Stokes said.

"Join you?"

"You are one of us."

"But..."

"You were found Worthy." Bathia said. "You must join us in the place of watching."

"Me?"

'You." Dave said. "I was charged with bringing you here. Now you must do your duty."

Barnabas joined the other three. He was now where he belonged, at last.

* * *

George watched the assembled people. There were so many of them.

Now it was just the funeral and the burial of the ashes. He had watched Barnabas died, he had watched his body being cremated, and he knew that it was truly over.

Now he had Georgina to care about...

He was going to move to the egg, he decided. Between him, Frances, Patterson, and Derek, they might keep Howard in the straight and narrow. Derek was about to marry Frances any time now, as Howard was to marry Roxanne...

It was the simplest solution... and in the end Howard would mellow...

But now he had this gathering to get through... He looked at the urn. That was not Barnabas anymore. He had said his goodbye to him already... But there were those who deserved the chance to say goodbye, like Chris and Oriana, who had come in too late to see Barnabas alive.

He watched all of them. Willie was weeping silently in the front row. The bond that he had with Barnabas was an unique one, and could not be easily broken. The others, Vicky and Phillip, Frank and Buffy, Xavier and Sandy, they looked stunned, as if they finally understood how much Barnabas was part of their lives...

Tammy looked stunned, as Joe held her hand. Her ancestor, whom she had had the chance to know, this stranger than usual white man who dared claim her as his child, was dead. And it affected her much more than she thought it should.

David was stunned too. So much had he gone through with Barnabas... so much that was now ended.

Sabrina had come, drudgingly, but had come. She still wished to pay her respects, but kept at a distance from all of them. She would not return to Collinsport.. There was nothing for her here.

Maggie and Quentin held hands. Maggie understood that her story with Barnabas had ended for good. She just now had to go forward. Quentin sighed, knowing that for him only a normal life remained. He would have to ask Adam if the changes he made to the portrait meant that he would at last grow old..

Julia held Gretchen. It was like half her life was gone. She and Barnabas had gone through so much... But only half her life. She still had her other half. She had Kenneth, she had Gretchen, she had Howard...

Adam sat stone-faced next to Carolyn. He could not feel fondness for Barnabas. And maybe he never would. Edmund sat with Dr. Blair, feeling the weight of his own adulthood, sensing that it was, in a sense, the funeral of his own father that he was attending.

Iris held Peter. She thought of the romance he had once shared with Barnabas, and what had come between them. She wished it would have been different, but recognized that it could not be. At least she and Peter were free now.

Carolyn watched Roger, noticing for the first time his frailty, his age. She had to take good care of him, in the time that remained him.

Angelique and Megan sat together. Megan knew that the last link between Angelique and Collinsport was broken. Oh, they would come back, from time to time... after all Collinsport was a vampire friendly town, and it was good to keep on checking for any phoenix or Leviathan flare-ups. But their life would be elsewhere... if vampire politics did not pry them apart. She had offered Delia and Jake the chance to attend. Jake had refused, but Delia was there, at a distance from the others, and avoiding Iris' eyes. Still, she was there.

A teary faced Elsa hugged Alma... She had grown up at last, and it hurt... it hurt so much...

Howard, Roxanne, Frances, and Derek held their own memories of him in different ways, wondering on what had brought them all together to live in Egg City...

Harry Redwolf had come too, and felt regret at some of the things he now wished undone...

Anselm Trask spoke the eulogy. It was a sincere and heartfelt one. Barnabas had touched hi in a different way. He had forced him to confront some of his cherished beliefs and articles of faith. He had done so, and found that his faith was stronger for it. And he knew, at last, that the sins of the fathers would not be visited upon the sons.

Louella clutched Pearl, wondering how to explain to her where Uncle Barnabas was.

He had mattered, to all of them. And now he was gone. They would live their lives, and not guess the extent to which they had been changed by his presence, and by his pushy, interfering ways., by his insistence in giving unsolicited advice, by his becoming an instant expert on anything, by his standing up for all the corny things that everyone else was too embarrassed to say aloud.

George squeezed Urien's shoulder. He regretted leaving him behind, but he would do better with Julia and Kenneth than with him. He would go to college and make something of himself..

He, like all the others, was on his own, now.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Dear George:

I hope that you are well, now that you have settled with Georgina in Egg City, and that things are going better with Howard, Roxanne,, Frances, and Derek.

Here we are doing well. I still miss Barnabas... I think that we all do. At least I can write his name without weeping. It still hurts, but it is a good hurt.

We are all healing. Life is going back to normal. Actually more normal that usual for Collinsport.. Except for the fact that we are a vampire-friendly town, there is little to tell us apart from other Maine towns.

Megan and Angelique left town. Megan always wanted to live in a big city, and now she has her wish. She has become more involved with ronin politics, but at least Verhoff is a lot easier to handle these days. Angelique took Nicholas with her, as she is keeping him on a short leash. He grumbles, and complains, but knows that this is the best deal he can get.

Adam is still married to Carolyn, and they seem reasonably happy, at least for people with difficult childhoods as they are. He still does not like me, but we are civil to each other, and that is enough.

Chris and Oriana went back to Florida. They present such a picture of normalcy that it would be hard to imagine either of them being a werewolf. They work, they raise their children, and the endure mosquitoes and hurricanes...

Sabrina has dropped out of sight completely. She is going places in Washington, and has no attachment to Collinsport. So be it.

Urien studies hard, and he and us have interesting discussions. He treasures not just our company, but our knowledge and the advice that we can give (though sometimes my experience is about things you should not do,) Kenneth is trying to push Urien into going to Medical School, but he is set in Marine Biology.

Elsa has grown close to Edmund, after their experiences. They are now young adults with more knowledge that children should have. I suspect that they might marry when they are older.. Edmund still has his powers, and is training in proper use of them. I do not know the details, but I know that Amy and the labyrinth are involved... If Elsa has her own training, I do not know, but I suspect she is also being trained...

Maggie has set the date for her wedding to Quentin. It is surprising how those two have changed. I guess that Barnabas' death freed her from being stuck in her past. Of course, I know that she is quite ruthless and I do not care to cross her, but she does not feel so threatened these days. At least Sabrina is out of the picture, and Sabrina with her own ruthlessness catered to her worst instincts. She and Quentin are crafting an affordable housing initiative, which Maggie hopes to pull through Congress.

Louella is quite advanced in her pregnancy, and Willie is quite happy about his second child, saying that Barnabas predicted it would be a boy. Tammy is expecting, and whatever misgivings she might have about an interracial child are gone. Buffy has become quite proficient in computers, and now that the school has gone coop and she is free of that responsibility, she has helped set up a system where those she trains can do computer work at home and be paid for it. This is more in the scope of what she can do. Frank chafes at the political restrictions on government employees, because, he says, he would like to run for office, as he thinks that he could do a better job than a lot of the clowns in government..

Vicky spoke of having another child. She is quite busy with her school there, and Phillip has begun taking commissions to renew old house. They are becoming prominent people, and Phillip is not very sure that he likes that. He still plays the sax, but only on an amateur basis. Vicky seems to have taken to her new prominence like a fish to water. She does come to Collinsport to visit, but never stays long. She is civil to Carolyn, but there is a barrier between the two. Maybe they will work it out in the future.

Carolyn has developed more self-assurance and maturity. She is determined to avoid her mother's mistakes, and she has made a good start. She no longer plays lady of the manor to the cannery workers, and they appreciate it.

Zeb and Jessica are doing well. Zeb has mellowed up to the point of wishing you well. I got along well enough with Jessica who is quite busy with the baby.

As you know, Geoffrey won the election. He now runs the sheriff's office, and his style is more like Patterson's than yours

Redwolf continues squabbling with Xavier... Or rather, bargaining. Davenport's business has grown quite a bit, and he has taken steps so that it is community property with Sandy, so he can keep his children's greedy paws from it. Apart from that, Xavier and Sandy are quite happy.

Peter is recovering, slowly. Iris is encouraged by it, and noted that she had finally heard him laugh with true joy. I told her that Peter would always have a psychic gift, and that it should be handled with care. She wants to do right by him, so I do not doubt that she will take proper care of his gift.

Roger is still the same, More frail-looking, but still the same. He still wants to prove Nixon's innocence and still looks for flying saucers. As long as he does not get into more serious trouble, Carolyn lets him have fun.

As for me, I am still the same. Work at Wyncliffe (had to hire a new therapist to replace Barnabas), living with Kenneth, and tending to Gretchen.

And remembering old time, the good and the bad. The dashed hopes, and the ones that have come true... Because we live on hope..

Please write me and tell me how your are doing.

Julia

Dear Julia:

Thank you for keeping me in touch with the people I left back there. I like to think that I will go back one day. In any case Georgina will.

I am glad that everyone seems to be doing well. I see Megan and Angelique on a regular basis. I know about Megan's involvement in ronin politics, and I know that it strains their relationship. Angelique wants to be involved in Georgina's life, and that I am willing to do... Specially if she inherits her mother's powers. She should be able to handle them wisely and avoid the heartbreak that surrounded her mother... I see Nicholas too, as she keeps her on a short leash, as you said. Knowing the kind of mischief he can get into, I think that it is wise.

Funny your telling me that Geoffrey's style is more like Patterson's than mine. Patterson is now coming around to my views. The experience of people who never directly question his authority, but seek to evade by all means gave him perspective on the subject.

I noticed that you did not mention David in your letter. I take that he has not come back for Eliot yet. Maybe he needs to grow up a bit more. Barnabas said that David would come around and raise Eliot, and I do not like to think that he was wrong... though knowing what I know of David, I keep wondering if Eliot would not be better off being raised by Carolyn.

I am glad that Urien is doing so well. I must confess that I was hurt when Barnabas chose you and not me for a guardian, but I have come to realize that he was right about that. I could never be a father in his eyes; at best a friend, and he does need parents still. I can be a father to Georgina, and that should be enough. I have decided to be the best father possible to her.

Here, in Egg City, thing are more sensible these days. Derek and Frances, with their common sense now present a common front against the more messianic dreams of Howard and Roxanne. And I have been throwing my weight around (being the one contact with Megan and Angelique helps a lot). I try not to intervene too much, so as not to irritate them needlessly., I nay speak out rarely, but when I do, it carries weight. Between me, Patterson, Derek and Frances, we keep it in the straight and narrow. We have made concessions to Howard and Roxanne, and they have come to accept that the people here will eventually be absorbed into the general population, and that our job is not to create a permanent settlement, an ideal kibbutz, but a halfway house for admission to the U.S. The youth group was not disbanded, but restructured to get rid of the more military aspects, and to emphasize civic culture.

As you see, we still have our hands full.

As for myself, I have not found anyone to take Barnabas' place. Or rather I have not been looking. It is not wise to seek such company in the egg, as they are too straitlaced. As for outside, a serious commitment demands honesty, and how am I going to tell them that my lover was a vampire, and that when I go away it is to take care of a place that exists inside a Faberge egg? You see my problem. So, for a while I have to be content with one-night-stands.

I have my work. I have Georgina. I have my friends. I have my memories. It should be enough.

And I have hope, because as you said, we live on hope.

Affectionately,

George


End file.
